Hovde Group Begins Coverage on First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Stock analysts at Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.65% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.67.

First Busey Price Performance

First Busey stock opened at $23.89 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. First Busey has a 12-month low of $18.40 and a 12-month high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.46%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 76,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,496. This represents a 5.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. This represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148 in the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $101,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613,848 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,096,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $110,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,262 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,861,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 648.8% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 918,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,848,000 after acquiring an additional 796,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,837,000. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

About First Busey

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and FirsTech.